Last July, when we decided it was time to order the stairs, we called 2 people for proposals.
One was a local craftsman who would hand-make them to our specifications. We've seen his work; they would have been gorgeous. They also would have been slightly more expensive and he couldn't do it until January.
The other was the same company that installed our windows. These would be factory made to our specifications, would merely be beautiful and would be installed in September.
We opted for the quicker installation - we've already had enough delays with this house.
We accepted the one quote and ignored the other - which is typical. Once a quote is delivered it's up to the recipient to take the next step. The seller rarely makes contact after that.
Today, as the lads were hoisting our staircase into position, the local craftsman stopped by to say that he had some time right now and did we want the stairs.....
How is that possible? Out of all the days and all the times.... How is that possible?
Here's how the rest of the day went:
Mon mari stained and varnished the underside of the stairs this past weekend.
The first order of the day was to finish cutting the opening in the floor above.
Then have a closer look to tidy it up a bit and determine the anchor point.
There were just the 2 of them so I was expecting some sort of equipment to hoist the stairs into place - solid oak and all that.
Here it is.....
We didn't wall paper where the stairs are - assuming it would get messed up. We could have....
They threw the rope over the roof beam and hoisted it up.
They braced it on the ladders while they determined the final position.
Once we were all satisfied that we wouldn't hit our head on the beam going up and down, they maneuvered the stairs into place.
Well, that was all the hard work.... You'll see the rest next update.
At all of the pizza restaurants here one has a choice of regular or white; the regular being made with tomato sauce and the white being made with creme fraiche.
Normally, I eat pizza so rarely that I don't pass up the chance to have a 'real' one, but last year, during the move we were eating pizza every other day....
I tried the white.
It was good.
Not a proper pizza, but it was good.
I made these mini tarts for a first course the other night; use an entire sheet of puff pastry for a proper pizza size.
The best part?
Delicious, very quick and easy.
White Pizza with Ham and Olives
1/2 cup green olives
2oz baked ham
1/3 cup fromage frais
1/4 cup shredded cheese
Thaw the puff pastry, if needed. Cut 2 rectangles out of 1 half, reserve the other for another day. Slice the olives in thirds and cut the ham into small pieces.
Lay the cut pastry on a baking sheet. With a dull knife (butter knife) lightly etch around the pastry, 1/3" (.75cm) from the edge. Divide the fromage frais and spread evenly within the etched lines. Arrange the ham and olives on the fromage frais and sprinkle the cheese on top.
Bake, 425F (215C) for 12 - 15 minutes, until golden brown. Remove and serve.
Note: You can use creme fraiche, Greek yogurt or soft cream cheese in place of the fromage frais.
I'm going to go run up and down my stairs now....
In case you're wondering why I'm so excited about this....
It means I can finally unpack my cook books!
You see, now that we have the stairs we can easily get to the first floor which means we can move the lighter furniture up there which means we can get all the stuff out of the hall which means I can put the Welsh dresser and book cases in place which means I can unpack my cook books.
And.....
Mon mari can move his 3 staining, varnish and gluing tables up there which means we can finish the den, followed by the living room followed by the dining room.....
